1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital television (DTV) receiving a data broadcast, and more particularly, to a data contents processing method and apparatus for processing and displaying data contents in relation with a TV program in a DTV having a browser function.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, an internet-based web browser has a function of showing the contents of a previously surfed page again according to a user's request, after the user has surfed or navigated the web page. That is, since all conventional browsers are manufactured on an internet basis, when the above-said browsers are connected to the internet via a certain network (PPP, ISDN, ASDL, FDDI, ATM, and Ethernet), the user can navigate the web page that he or she has viewed using the forward/backward function included in the browser. At this time, in the state that, although the user has ever navigated the web page, the web page is deleted from the cache of the browser, if the user wants to view the deleted web page again using the backward function of the browser, the browser downloads and displays the contents of the deleted web page via the network.
Meanwhile, in the case that the browser having the above-said function is applied to a TV, when certain contents related to A/V streams are navigated via the browser, there occurs a problem that the contents requested by the user do not exist in a local memory, or the contents having no relation with the currently displayed A/V streams are displayed. The problem occurring when the browser is applied to the TV will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1A is an image of A/V streams and TV data contents not being consistent with each other, when a channel is converted by pressing the channel forward/backward key in a digital television having a browser function according to the conventional art. If the channel is converted to a ‘soccer’ program in the state that data contents relating to the ‘Han River’ are displayed on a screen, as illustrated therein, the data contents relating to the ‘Han River’ are displayed as they are, and only the channel is converted to the ‘soccer’ game, thus simultaneously displaying the data contents relating to the ‘Han River’ and the A/V streams relating to the ‘soccer’ game program.
FIG. 1B is an image of A/V streams and TV data contents not being consistent with each other, when a navigation is performed using the forward/backward function of a browser in a digital television having a browser function according to the conventional art. If the forward/backward function key of the browser is pressed when a ‘soccer’ program is displayed on the screen, as illustrated therein, the A/V stream relating to the ‘soccer’ program are displayed as they are, and only the data contents are changed into the contents relating to the ‘Han River’, thus simultaneously displaying the A/V streams relating to the ‘soccer’ game program and the data contents relating to the ‘Han River’.
Generally, since a TV is connected to each independent channel (or network) to be connected to the corresponding independent network whenever the channel is changed, and channels, programs and contents are managed in separate groups, the TV to which a conventional browser technique exclusively used for the internet is adapted cannot maintain the relation between the currently displayed A/V streams and the corresponding data contents. Accordingly an image of the data contents and the A/V streams not being consistent with each other are displayed.
Consequently, the TV having the conventional browser function cannot reliably provide broadcasting to viewers by displaying A/V streams and TV data contents that are consistent with each other.